Black ice threatens roads as temperatures remain frigid

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Major roads have been cleared of snow and ice, but many secondary streets and side roads are still partly covered.

An Eyewitness News crew hit the road Wednesday night, driving up and down Matthews-Indian Trail and Unionville-Indian Trail roads and their side roads after viewers complained about them.

The crew saw sheets of ice and spots of black ice in between clear sections of the road.

Some drivers said they were going to avoid driving Thursday morning, but other people will have to take the roads to get to work. They’re already warning fellow drivers.

“Take your time,” Jay Hauchin said. "If you still have a lot of ice on the roads, just take your time. You don’t have to be in a hurry to get anywhere."

Hauchin works for a towing company and so he’s seen the problems drivers have had.

“A lot of them rolling off in ditches, things like that,” he said.

Charlotte Area Transit System CEO Carolyn Flowers said buses are operating on detours because of icy streets, but are trying to maintain schedules. They’re starting to get back to normal service. They will provide detour information on their website www.ridetransit.org.

NCDOT continues to monitor road conditions

North Carolina Department of Transportation crews cleared leftover slush and snow off secondary streets Wednesday to stop it from refreezing overnight.

They put down more than 2,200 tons of salt.

NCDOT said it scaled back the number of crews from nearly 100 to about 20.

Interstates in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties are in good shape, with some spots of ice on primary roads in Anson, Union and Stanly counties, officials with NCDOT said Wednesday afternoon.

Early Wednesday, secondary roads were an issue in those surrounding counties.

South Carolina Highway Patrol reported 1,475 weather-related calls for service from 4 p.m. Tuesday through 4 a.m. Wednesday. Officials compared during the same time period last year, they responded to 174 calls.

A woman in Hickory who is nine months pregnant was trying to get to a doctor’s appointment when she lost control of her car on an icy road Wednesday morning –- and a second vehicle slid off the road in the same spot just minutes later.